


Always Take The Shot

by felpereBRanco



Series: One Shots [7]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Moving On, Photography, Post-Save Chloe Price Ending, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 13:50:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20976944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felpereBRanco/pseuds/felpereBRanco
Summary: Max and Chloe deals with the aftermath of The Tornado.





	1. The Camera

Chloe took a hand off the steering wheel, leaning it on the window as she looked at the orange sky. The last few weeks had been absolutely crazy. Her BFF comes back, they...find Rachel - And Chloe still couldn’t believe everything they’ve found out about her. Frank? Seriously?! - a storm blows up Arcadia Bay, which, to be fuckin fair, was like one of her darkest wishes for a long, long time.

Chloe stole a glance to her side, seeing Max silently leaning on the window, lost in her own world. Chloe cursed the awkwardness in the air and coughed, trying to bring the attention if her partner in time.

“So, uh… Max.” The girl didn’t react, so Chloe turned her head to her, not paying attention to the road.

“It’s…It’s very ...uh...Max out.” Chloe almost smiled when she saw the girl turn to look at her, though with a confused face instead of the smile she was hoping for. Then her mind caught up to her words.

”No, wait. I meant. It’s very pretty out… Like… The sky, y’know.” Chloe turned to the road, putting the hand in the window on the steering wheel while the other reached to turn on the radio.

“You should take a… picture.” She could feel Max’s depressive gaze at her back, so she didn’t turn. The silence stretched for a long moment.

“I...can’t.” She said, eyes going back to the window.

“Sure you can, Mad Max. Just...Uh… Take the shot, right?” Chloe cursed herself, knowing she just fucked it. 

**Always take the shot.**

“Shut up.”

Chloe turned back to the road, a hurt expression on her face. After another moment, Max sighed.

“Chloe, I… Every time I touch a camera I remember him.” Max admitted, quietly. “The flash of the camera takes me back to that… that shithole. Every time I see a camera I remember him over me, sticking a camera up my face to...to… Fuck. You can’t expect me to just bounce back, Chloe! I can’t just…. deal with it or whatever other fucking advice you’re gonna give me.” Her words started like a whisper, a shameful secret, but like the wind turning into a thunderstorm, it started picking up, until it left Max yelling at Chloe, tears in her eyes.

Chloe clenched her teeth, hardened eyes fixated at a point in the road. Max hiccuped, noticing this.

“Chloe...I...I’m sorry.” 

Chloe sighed, not looking from the road.

“...It’s fine...I know you have a lot of shit.”

Max sighed, turning back to the window. So many things were left unsaid. 

“Hey… We’ll get through this, okay? Together.” Chloe said, finally. Max turned to look at her, a small, though still dulled, smile. To Chloe, that meant the world.

“...You know what? Fuck it, Chloe.” Max smile grew slightly bigger, though it still looked false, and Chloe turned to her in confusion. 

“Stop the car. We’re taking a fucking picture.” Chloe grinned, making a sharp turn to get off the road.

“Hella Yas, Super-Max! I like that attitude.”

Max grinned too, a blank grin that conveyed no emotion. for the first time since… The choice, she felt...happy again. She lied to herself. Fake it till you make it, right? It reminded her of all of those childhood days with Chloe. Her grin turned into a hesitant, but true smile.

“You’ll help me, right?”

“Always, Max.”


	2. The Picture

They ended up sleeping by the side of the road, inside the car.

It was two days since the lighthouse. The storm. Max didn’t know where they were going, she didn’t care much. But Chloe had been driving through the whole day. Slow like a Granny, barely passing half the speed limit, but with a single minded determination that clued Max to the fact that she, Chloe, had a plan.

Not that Max cared. She hardly cared about anything anymore.

_ “I’m inside a nightmare, _

_ _ _ _ _ and I can’t wake up.” _

_ _ _ _ _ “Help me, Max!” _

So here she was, awake after midnight, cuddling with her Chloe, and unable to sleep because ‘Mark Jefferson’ was right there, staring at her with that crazed look, stalking her through the window reflection. 

He smiled and talked, though Max couldn’t actually hear him. Not with her ears.

She was breathing badly and shaking life a leaf. And all she could do was stand there silently, too afraid of bothering Chloe with her imagination. He’s not really there. He’s  _ not _ real. So no real reason to wake her up, right?

Yeah, she needs the sleep.

Max didn’t sleep throughout the night.Even when she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She laid awake, never taking her eyes from Mr. Jefferson.

_ “So innocent” He mouthed through the glass.  _

_ Max could hear him loud and clear in her own memories. _

That’s okay. She’ll sleep tomorrow. She’s okay.

**∴**

During the drive, the next day, Chloe kept eyeing Max like she knew what happened. Like she  _ knew about him. _ Max could have told her about nightmares. About...Jefferson.

Max chose not to.

They passed through a sign that said they were in Seattle. It was obvious, in hindsight, but Max only put the pieces together when Chloe stopped in front of her house.

Not her pieces though. She’s still broken.

“Why?” She asked, after a moment, feeling her chest crush with nostalgia.

“They deserve to see you, Max. To know their daughter is okay.” Chloe said, voice burdened with feelings of regret.  _ I’m not okay, though. _

Despite that, they stayed in the car.

An hour later, Ryan caulfield came out of the house with the trash.

Max doesn’t remember what happened after. There were tears, hugs. Vanessa pulling her out of the car. She wasn’t like that, though. She’s just blank, unmoving.

“She gets like that when...uh...people touch her too much.” Chloe tells Ryan, trying to downplay the problem.

**∴**

“CHLOE!”

The scream made Chloe jump, jerking to the side in surprise. 

“Max, what the…” Chloe took a quick glance back to the road, eyes widening when she saw the truck coming toward them

“Fuck!” She twisted the well, trying to get the control of the car back. After a terrifying moment, the car was back on the road. Chloe was frozen, every muscle in her body stiffened. Max, on the other hand, was breathing heavily.

“D...Did we…?” Chloe whispered after a moment. Max turned back to her, confused for a moment, before she understood.

“W...No. No, we didn’t...I didn’t rewind. I...I swear, I didn’t use-”

“It's ok... Nightmares?”

“...Yeah”

Both of them stayed silent. Max looked out of the window, seeing a giant sign pass by.

**“Welcome to Melvin Town”**

“Where are we?” Max asked, turning back to the road.

“Melvin of course!” Chloe answered in an animated voice. Max closed her eyes, trying to remember any conversation with Chloe involving that city, since it clearly meant a lot to her, by the tone of her voice. Not remembering anything, she reopened her eyes, turning confused, and finally saw the mirth in Chloe’s eyes.

“...And where is that?”

“Here!” Chloe winked. Max smiled, rolling her eyes fondly.

“You have no idea of where we are, do you?.”

“...Okay, I admit...I have been picking directions at random for like, the last 3 days.” 

“Chloe….”

“Alright, alright. I… changed my mind on going to a big city. Sounds nice to go there, on vacations or something. But I...Ugh, I like living in small towns. So I found Melvin. It’s like, one hour trip to Salem, it’s not that ancient-never-heard-of-internet type of towns. And, cherry on top: Charlie Cosper. She’s famous as shit, right? So you can continue your hipster thingy… What do you think?” Max just watched her silently, surprised at the plan.

“When did you…”

“About three days ago. You didn’t think we’d just travel without a direction, right?” Max shrugged, smirking

“I dunno, Chloe… It does sound like something you’d do.” Chloe put a hand in her chest, making a mock hurt expression. She dropped it quickly afterwards. Nervously asking, a hand fixing her beanie.

“Anyways, what do you think?”

“I'd ...I'd like that...But only if you go back to school with me.”

“Together, Max, remember? Besides, it’s time to start doing something for my life, y’know.”

“Thanks, Chloe.”

“Sure thing, Max. Enjoy the ride, though. We’re almost there."


End file.
